Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

A recent study has shown that most home buyers now look for a good broadband connection, and that this is a more valued than having access to local amenities such as local shops or pubs, a decent doctor's surgery or even having off-street parking. Apparently 10% of people looking for a new home will walk away from a property with a poor broadband connection, while 20% wanted to know broadband speeds before deciding whether or not to buy a property.The government recently announced that it will invest £114 million in making broadband access in key cities the fastest in Europe by...

A UK property developer has become the first to offer investors a 10 day cooling off period that will enable them to walk away from the transaction without suffering any type of financial penalty. The scheme is being offered by the FreshStart Living who are based in Salford, and it's believed to be the first of its kind. The company offers affordable living properties, the majority of which are sold to institutions and buy to let investors and will now allow buyers to reserve a property without the need to pay a reservation fee. Buyers then have a ten-day period to...

Around 25% of homeowners aged over fifty regard their home as being at least part of their pension pot, and plan to use the equity to fund their retirement. This is in spite of the continued uncertainty in the housing market; around 39% of working homeowners have low confidence in the housing market, and think their home is probably not worth as much as it was three years ago. They estimate their home is worth an average of nearly twenty thousand pounds less than it was three years, which equates to £58 billion overall.The survey was carried out by retirement specialists...

A recent poll has shown more than half of the UK population are concerned about the government’s plan to remove the need for planning permission for small extensions and conservatories, as they think it could be detrimental to local neighbourhoods. According to the poll, 54% think designs for extensions will get worse as a result, with just 7% believing they will improve.  However this survey was carried out on behalf of the Royal Institute of British Architects.The RIBA feels this lack of support from the general public for these proposals is similar to their own concerns, and goes against their commitment...

A new report has detailed ways housing associations could generate billions of pounds extra each year from their existing assets without impacting on government subsidy costs. The recent £10 billion boost by the government through its guarantee scheme did a lot to help the affordable housing sector, but according to the report from Price Waterhouse Cooper and L & Q, much more help is needed.It has suggested creating a Social Equity Fund that would have the capacity to generate billions of pounds each year to help support the provision of affordable housing. The amount needed each year is considerable, as it...

Wealthy homeowners look set to be targeted by the coalition in a new move forced through by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. It looks likely that a team of legal and computer experts will be able to look at individual’s savings and property to assess whether or not they are paying enough tax, and that people will be forced to account for every penny of their money. It is an attempt to raise millions of extra pounds through tax, as it is estimated around half a million people have assets worth more than one million pounds.HM Revenue and Customs already has...

The government’s new housing minister, Mark Prisk recently gave his first speech asking social landlords to help try to meet the growing need for rental homes. He was speaking at the National Housing Federation conference in Birmingham and asked that housing associations use their years of expertise within their sector to help build new homes for rent within the private sector. Through utilising the government’s new measures, it is hoped more social landlords will be encouraged to branch out, sparking Britain’s building industry back into life.Prisk is urging landlords to bid for a share of the £10 billion Government Guarantee scheme...

Mortgage lending for last month declined by 1% compared to the previous month, and by 4% compared to a year ago. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed gross mortgage lending for August was £12.6 billion, compared to £13.1 billion in August 2011. Bob Pannell commented on these figures saying “House purchase activity continues to be a little above year-earlier levels, but the housing numbers are far from strong. We expect to see a stronger take-up of NewBuy over the coming months, helped by a concerted marketing effort by builders and the recently launched Funding for Lending Scheme, which has...

New research has shown mortgage lenders are exposed to a huge amount of risk, as they hold around £116 billion in interest only loans. In many case the borrower doesn’t have any specific plan for repaying the money. Around 1.3 million are due to mature by 2020, and 1.04 million don’t have any means in place cover the final payment. Some 21.000 are already under forbearance, so repossessions are expected to increase.Around 14% of residential home loans taken out during the last ten years are interest only, most of which were granted before the current financial crisis. In spite of the...

The government’s plans to relax planning laws are already facing opposition, as Richmond council voted to veto the new rules last week, a view that is shared by nearby Sutton. The whole aim was to enable people to extend their homes without the need for lengthy planning applications, something that would also benefit small construction and building firms. However there are fears that these extensions could potentially blight roads, leading to a decline in property prices. Such an outcome would not go down well with the neighbours.The current plan is to double the limit on size for single-storey extensions before planning...

According to a new study by an insurance company, the average 50-year-old needs an extra £50,000 in order to feel financially secure. They have found there is a wealth gap of £43 billion for 50-year-olds who haven't met their savings and assets targets in order to achieve financial security, as the total worth of people in this age group is £155.3 billion. Their study shows the average 50 old is worth £179,000, and this includes property equity and their pension. Most 50-year-olds have said they need £229,000 in order to feel financially secure.Not surprisingly property accounts for most of this wealth,...

While many people will see these amendments as being a positive move, others are concerned that it could leave consumers at risk. In particular the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors feels these amendments could leave home buyers and sellers at risk if they don't receive the advice and guidance of a properly qualified professional.The amendments mean that websites will be able to act as passive intermediaries, and worry is that many buyers and sellers will be unable to differentiate between the services offered by traditional estate agents and intermediaries that merely publish the details of homes for sale. Buyers and sellers...

It looks as if it could be easier to sell your home without using an estate agent, as the government is proposing to remove restrictions on websites that enable sellers to advertise property to the public. These changes could make a huge difference to the property market, as estate agents can often charge up to 2.5% of the sale price. The new amendment being proposed by the Department for Business and Innovation and Skills and means sellers advertising their home online through an intermediary company won't be treated in the same way as estate agents. At the moment anyone selling their...

The latest analysis of sales of residential homes in England and Wales shows house prices increased by 2.5% last month, and are by 2.6% compared to August 2011. However there are huge regional variations and the North-South divide is getting larger. The residential market is largely been driven by buyers in the South East, South West and London, but there are even differences in the cities, as for example the more affluent London boroughs are seeing much larger price growth than less desirable areas.Experts think this latest data demonstrates how resilient the housing market is proving to be, although they have...

Buy to let landlords have been warned to check that they have adequate insurance, as apparently not everyone is updating their property insurance cover levels regularly enough. Some may take the view that as long as they have a policy their level of protection will be adequate. However a recent case involving a block of flats that burned down, may leave a landlord with out of pocket expenses of around £100,000. This highlights the need to check policies at regular intervals. The landlord in question only discovered he had been under insuring the property for a number of years when he...